Today, the Maine Senate passed Legislative Document 31. LD 31 has been approved by both chambers and after final enactment by the Senate, it will appear on the ballot this upcoming November. Further, the Senate also voted down Legislative Document 1175. LD 1175 would have created three new protective orders and would allow for these protective orders to infringe upon your Second Amendment rights based on third party allegations and varying degrees of “evidence.”

LD 31 addresses problems and concerns with the state’s current “Citizen Initiative” process. This bill proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Maine to require that the signatures on a petition consist of voters from each of the State's two congressional districts, and the number of signatures from each congressional district be not less than 10% of the total vote for governor cast in that congressional district in the previous gubernatorial election.

As originally introduced, LD 1175 would have created a new “gun violence restraining order” (GVRO). GVROs allow for the infringement of Second Amendment and property rights based on third-party allegations, including allegations of conduct that are constitutionally protected. Although proponents of these bills claim GVROs are effective mechanisms for dealing with dangerous or violent offenders, the proposed legislation didn’t require expert evidence on risk assessment, a mental health evaluation, a criminal conviction, or any evidence of violence or harm before an order is granted, and the order required only that guns – not any other weapons – be surrendered.

Your NRA-ILA would like to thank all NRA members and Second Amendment supporters across Maine who were actively involved throughout this legislative session and contacted their state legislators to help protect our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. ​

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.